We've seen a number of carriers launch 4G LTE networks or announce plans to do so in the near future, and today C Spire announced that it too will soon be joining in on the LTE fun. The regional carrier has revealed that it will be bringing LTE coverage to 20 Mississippi markets starting in September. C Spire says that that rollout will cover 2,700 square miles, 1.2 million people and more than 360 cell sites. Here's the first batch of markets that can expect to see C Spire LTE coverage:

Jackson metropolitan area

Mississippi Gulf Coast

In South Mississippi: the cities of Brookhaven, Columbia, Natchez, Petal, Hattiesburg, McComb and Lucedale;

In North Mississippi: the cities of Oxford, Tupelo, Corinth, New Albany, Pontotoc, Booneville, Starkville, Columbus and West Point;

In the Mississippi Delta, the cities of Yazoo City, Cleveland, Greenville, Greenwood and Clarksdale

In East Mississippi: the city of Meridian and parts of Lauderdale County

C Spire says that customers can expect to see average data speeds of between 4 to 12Mbps down and 1 to 5Mbps up on its 4G LTE network. However, the carrier has yet to offer details on what kinds of LTE-capable devices it plans to offer. Although C Spire's initial LTE rollout is only going to be hitting folks in Mississippi, it's still good to see another carrier preparing to make the move to LTE, and it'll be interesting to see which 4G products it'll end up offering. Any of you out there in one of the initial C Spire LTE markets listed above?

FAST GETS FASTER: C SPIRE WIRELESS TO LAUNCH 4G LTE IN 20 MARKETS

Nation’s Only Personalized Network Will Be First to Deliver High-Speed Wireless Data Speeds Up to 10 Times Faster in Most Mississippi Markets This Fall

C Spire Wireless 4G LTE Fact Sheet

Ridgeland, Miss. (March 8, 2012) – C Spire Wireless, the only U.S. provider that offers a suite of personalized wireless services, released details today on its plans to introduce 4G LTE (Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution) high-speed mobile broadband services this fall.

The company plans to invest $60 million to begin the roll out 4G LTE mobile broadband services in September in 20 Mississippi markets covering 2,700 square miles, a population of 1.2 million and more than 360 cell sites. The new service will provide 4 out of every 10 consumers and businesses in Mississippi with wireless data speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G, allowing C Spire to be the first provider to make these services widely available in the state.

“Wireless networks are all about coverage, quality and speed, and the C Spire Wireless personalized network cannot be beat,” said Hu Meena, president and CEO for C Spire Wireless. “We will continue to lead the way with our aggressive 4G LTE network upgrades so that our customers have the wireless services that allow them to do what they want to do when they need to do it in more places that matter to them.” Today’s announcement only involves the first phase of our 4G LTE deployment. More phases and more coverage will soon follow.”

Meena said the company plans to begin the roll out of its 4G LTE mobile broadband services in September in the following markets, most of which will be the first time consumers have access to the high-speed technology:

Jackson metropolitan area

Mississippi Gulf Coast

In South Mississippi: the cities of Brookhaven, Columbia, Natchez, Petal, Hattiesburg, McComb and Lucedale;

In North Mississippi: the cities of Oxford, Tupelo, Corinth, New Albany, Pontotoc, Booneville, Starkville, Columbus and West Point;

In the Mississippi Delta, the cities of Yazoo City, Cleveland, Greenville, Greenwood and Clarksdale

In East Mississippi: the city of Meridian and parts of Lauderdale County

Mississippi business and government leaders praised C Spire for its technology investment in Mississippi. “Private sector investments like these by C Spire Wireless will help in our continued efforts to attract high-technology industries and jobs to the Magnolia state,” said Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant. “Expanding wireless broadband access through the latest and fastest technologies is critical to our state’s economic development, education, small business and health care sectors.”

Tony Jeff, president and CEO of the Mississippi Technology Alliance, said the deployment of 4G LTE services in the state will help both consumers and small businesses. "A more robust mobile broadband experience drives economic growth, stimulates jobs and equips Mississippi consumers and businesses with the latest and fastest technologies to meet their growing wireless voice and data communications needs," Jeff said. "C Spire Wireless has significantly ramped up its wireless investments to enable an experience that offers Mississippi consumers and businesses better speed, better reliability and better availability of high-speed data communications.”

C Spire is the first provider to make the next generation of high-speed mobile broadband data services widely available to Mississippians. “We’re moving aggressively to offer 4G LTE services to customers who want to experience the freedom and benefits this dramatic increase in data speeds provides,” Meena said. “Also, we’ll be the first provider to make the next generation of high-speed mobile broadband data services widely available in many parts of our service area. For consumers, this paves the way for a future of tightly integrated voice and data services.”

Lightning-Fast Upload and Download Speeds Will Be Available Over Company’s 4G LTE Network

Customers can expect to experience average data speeds from 4 to 12 megabits per second (Mbps) when downloading content and speeds from 1 to 5 Mbps when uploading content on the company’s 4G LTE network, according to David Smith, vice president of Network Engineering for C Spire Wireless.

“Our network teams and technicians are working hard to prepare for the rollout of our 4G LTE network later this year,” Smith said. “We’ve been aggressively deploying fiber optic cable, installing enhanced backhaul connections and microwave rings and adding network capacity to hundreds of cell sites in anticipation of the launch.”

C Spire Wireless is a diversified wireless communications company passionately committed to helping customers by personalizing wireless services designed just for them. The company is the first wireless provider in the U.S. to personalize customers’ experience by offering apps that fit who they are, services that anticipate their needs, and rewards for using their phone in new ways – all with seamless ease and at amazingly fast speeds. This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire Wireless and its products and services, visit www.cspire.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at www.twitter.com/cspire.

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